Forgiveness and Mercy - A coda to the season 9 finale
by Cubit2
Summary: Forgiveness and mercy are difficult to give. I was surprised at the lack of coda's to the season 9 finale so I decided to post this one as a warm up to SOTB tonight and the season 10 premier next week.


A/N: This little coda begins with the last moments of the season 9 finale and continues from there, from Danny's perspective.

I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of the characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Arabic translations: "Oom" means "Mother/mom". "Adrabah" means "hit him". "Habibi" means "my love" and is a common term of affection.

A monumental thank you to Phoebe Miller, beta extraordinaire! She's a boss at this beta stuff and helped transform a very rough draft into something post-able.

H50 H50 H50

Something felt off.

Danny couldn't put a finger on it but his gut was telling him that something was wrong. While he had listened silently as Omar Hassan's widow, Azra, spoke so eloquently of forgiveness in front of her son, everything had seemed fine. Of course, when Steve had first mentioned that she wanted to meet with him to make peace between their families for her son's sake, Danny had been doubtful. In true Danny fashion he had not hesitated to air those views with Steve. Ironically, Steve had used Danny's own relationship with Rachel to prove that Mrs. Hassan's change of heart was completely understandable.

But now, stepping out of the office while she continued to speak of forgiveness and mercy, Danny's senses were tingling. He looked nervously to his right and then, seeing nothing untoward there, glanced back into the office. Everything was clear. But something still felt off. _Did this woman really fly herself and her son all the way to Hawaii just for the short meeting they had just ended? They hadn't even sat down or offered her a drink. Wasn't that a rather extravagant way to make amends? Was she vacationing in paradise while grieving the death of her husband? _ Even while his mind raced with questions, his body propelled him forward, trailing behind the woman who was behind Steve. His senses now on high alert he could feel deep in his bones that something big was going to happen.

And it did. _Right then. Right there._

She dropped her bag and everything changed in a heartbeat. Her body blocked his view as she reached toward her son and the next thing he knew Jerry was yelling "gun!"

Already moving, he heard the gunshot and caught a glimpse of Steve and Jerry falling to the floor, glass shattering behind them. "Oh my God!" Danny shouted. He lunged towards the traitorous shooter.

He didn't know if either man had been hit, but he had no time to focus on that until the threat was eliminated.

His brain in hyper-drive, instinct and training taking over, Danny grabbed her wrist, forcing the gun up toward the ceiling even as he used his own body to turn her away from his ohana - but not to the right, her son was there.

"Drop the gun," he shouted.

He tackled her to the floor, keeping the weapon facing away from the others. "Drop the gun," he shouted again.

She struggled beneath him mumbling something he couldn't understand.

"Drop the damn gun." Kneeling astride her back, Danny purposely rammed her gun-bearing right hand to the hard floor and forced the weapon from her grip, where it clattered out of reach. She scrambled fiercely, trying to push herself to her knees in a vain attempt to reach the weapon but his weight kept her pinned. Danny moved his hand to his belt, instinctively finding the handcuffs. She bucked hard, like a wild bull, but he remained in control. "Stay still," he demanded.

"Oom!" he heard the boy cry.

He felt something hit the back of his head as he wrapped one loop around her right wrist. The woman's son was swinging his backpack at him.

"Adrabah, habibi. Adrabah!" Azra shouted.

While he didn't understand Arabic, Danny sensed Azra fighting back with a renewed ferocity beneath him as her son went at him from behind, obviously encouraging her son to help her finish what she started while she still had any kind of chance. Her swinging elbow found Danny's eye, causing his vision to blur.

"Stop!" he demanded as he tried to grasp her left hand, looking through watery eyes.

Continuing his heartbreaking cries, the boy abandoned his backpack and swung his little fists at the back of Danny's head. She used that moment to try again to throw Danny off of her but Danny tightened his legs around her and remained on top. Vision clearing, he snapped the other cuff around her left wrist, successfully restraining her.

With the woman quickly subdued, Danny was able to turn his thoughts to his ohana who had been in the line of fire. He couldn't see them since they were now behind him. "Steve? Jerry?" he asked while he gently nudged the flailing boy away from him.

"I'm fine," Steve mumbled weakly from behind him, and Danny thanked God his best friend was still alive.

"Of course you are. Jerry?" He asked again.

"You got her?" Jerry asked in a roundabout reply, even as he eyed the handcuffed woman, still in a bit of shock over the whole thing.

"Yeah."

Azra, upon hearing Steve's voice, struggled harder and began shouting even louder.

Danny double checked that she was secure and then began to rise, when the desperate little boy jumped on his back, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Oom!" the boy shouted.

"Adrabah," the woman shouted back.

Leaving his still struggling and shouting prisoner lying prone on the floor, Danny stood and managed to maneuver the crying child from his back to his hip. Hugging the boy close, his fatherly instincts now kicked in as quickly as his police instincts had just a few moments earlier and he cooed and shushed and whispered soothing words to the shaking and traumatized boy as his mother continued to clamor hatefully by his feet.

Fueled by adrenaline, his heart was beating fast in his chest and his breathing was heavy. Sweat coated his face and dripped down the middle of his back. He took a few steps and kicked the gun even farther out of her reach, not wanting to handle it with the boy still in his arms.

Wiping his face with his sleeve, Danny was now able to give more attention to the victims of this surprise attack - his best friend, Steve and his quirky but loyal friend, Jerry.

Continuing to keep a wary eye on Mrs Hassan as he turned, he saw Steve rising to his knees and Jerry lying on his back a few feet away, both alert but pale.

"You okay?" Danny asked Steve and Jerry, as the boy sobbed softly on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Yeah," Steve answered, kneeling and resting back on his haunches, right hand wrapped around his left bicep. "But if Jerry hadn't seen that gun…"

Danny didn't need him to say more. He hadn't seen or heard much from his spot behind their attacker but he was able to put the pieces together easy enough. The single bullet grazed one man's arm and then the other before hitting the glass of the door behind them. That had been way too close.

Behind them Tani and Junior approached, holstering their weapons as they saw the situation was already under control. Lou was pulling up the rear, phone to his ear, calling for an ambulance and HPD.

Tani moved past Danny to take control of the prisoner while Junior knelt down by Jerry and applied pressure to his bloody arm. "Looks like a graze here," he said as Jerry groaned.

Steve pushed himself up from the floor.

"Whoa! Whoa! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Danny asked, even as he pulled one arm away from holding the boy and helped his best friend gain his balance.

"It's just a graze," Steve replied, showing Danny the wound before putting his hand back over it to apply pressure.

"Yes, I can see that," Danny told him, maintaining his grip on Steve's good arm. "So is Jerry's. But you see how he's being a good listener and staying on the floor where he can't fall down and hit his head?"

"I'm fine. I won't fall," Steve told him.

"No?" Danny asked, releasing his grip on Steve's arm.

"No," Steve said, wobbling slightly before stabilizing himself. Stubborn SEAL.

"Fine. Stay here before you leak all over the floor," Danny ordered him as Lou approached with a First Aid kit, having given some supplies from it to Junior who was tending to Jerry.

Lou looked at Danny and pointed to his eye. "You're gonna have a shiner there, brother," he said while opening up the First Aid box.

Danny sighed, tipping his chin towards Hassan. "Looks like she defines forgiveness and mercy like my ex mother-in-law."

A black eye was a small price to pay, though, for stopping her vicious retribution against Steve.

Tani escorted the widow away from the vicinity of her shooting victims. The prisoner was worn-out and more docile but that didn't stop her from glaring at Steve and letting loose another stream of angry words.

"Oom," the boy cried, turning in Danny's arms at the sound of his mother's voice, reaching for her.

Tani looked at Danny. She didn't even need to ask.

"We have to wait for Child Services but he can sit with her over there while you wait for pick up."

With a final reassuring squeeze he set the boy down, who then followed Tani and his handcuffed mother to the outer office. Danny's heart broke for the boy. To have witnessed his mother shoot a man who she had just "forgiven", and then see her taken down in a violent struggle, at such a tender age, was simply not right. _How would the child recover from this emotionally? Would it scar him for life? Would he embrace the same hatred that had fueled his father and had brought his mother to this point? Would he take retribution on Charlie years from now to avenge his mother's arrest?_ He shuddered at the thought.

Filing those thoughts away to be contemplated later (when all of this would surely keep him awake at night) Danny glanced to Jerry, still being tended to by Junior. He looked better now, some color coming back to his face as he now sat leaning against the wall. His stubborn partner, on the other hand, was still standing and looking a bit gray as Lou wrapped a temporary bandage around his upper arm.

Needing to secure the weapon, Danny eyed it as he crossed the room. White. Ceramic or plastic. Maybe even made from one of those new fangled 3D printers. That's how she got it past the strict security downstairs. It was scary to think about these things hitting the streets in volume. Another worry to add to the list. Picking the gun up he made sure it was secure before tucking it into the back of his waistband.

He looked around him and sighed, as the adrenaline coursing through his veins began to ease up. He stuffed his left hand in his pocket while the thumb on his right hand picked at the skin around the nail of his ring finger. Something had felt off and Danny wished he had done more about it - pressed Steve more, been on higher alert - something. But wishes were for fairy tales and guilt was for tragic romance novels. Neither would help him now.

He took a deep breath, centering himself. The clean up - physical, legal and emotional - from this day would take a while but for now Danny would do his best to keep the mood light until they were all back on solid footing. It's what he did.

"You know that bullet ruined your ink," he said, fluttering hands pointing to the tattoo on Steve's bicep. His tone loud and sarcastic. "Maybe they can turn it into something else." He tilted his head to one side and then the other, viewing the arm from different angles. "A Neanderthal maybe. Superman?" He held both hands up, thumbs stretched to the side and touching to form a 'frame'. "Oh, no. I know, how about a little baby Seal?"

The End


End file.
